Can Spirituality Heal the Environment?

The Venerable Thubten Ngodup, a cabinet level member of the Tibetan Government in Exile and advisor to His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, recently completed his first public speaking tour of the United States. His multiple engagements in California, New York, Chicago, Florida, Kentucky, Colorado, Washington DC and others, focused on the theme of “Global Warming and Personal Responsibility.”

Although an ordained monk and master sculptor, The Venerable Thubten Ngodup is most widely known for being the Nechung Kuten, or the Medium of the State Oracle of Tibet. This means he is a channel or physical vessel for a spirit known as Dorje Drakden. For more than a thousand years, Dorje Drakden has been considered a spiritual protector and guardian of Tibet. His predictions and teachings have informed many political and social decisions in Tibet. He is famed for having counseled the Dalai Lama on the details of his escape from Tibet in the years following the Chinese invasion of 1949.

Watch Kuten La and his translator Marya Schwabe explain more on Dorje Drakden and his relationship to the Dalai Lama.

Why would this simple monk and spiritual mystic travel thousands of miles to the U.S. to speak on global warming?

Watch Kuten La and his translator Marya Schwabe explain his motivation for speaking on global warming.

Tibet has been peppered with “take action” markers” from the earliest days of the eco-mmunity map. As your various markers have indicated, the region is in dire need of environmental action on several fronts.

Watch Kuten La and his translator Marya Schwabe answer the question, “Is Tibet in a state of environmental crisis?”

For more on the various environmental issues in Tibet we urge you check out the following map markers:

So what can we do in the face of environmental destruction? Kuten La offers a spiritual perspective on how to make an inner change. A change motivated by compassion and lovingkindness for all beings. “If you consider the myriads of life on this planet, from those in the seas and the air, the birds, even the insects, you begin to get a profound sense of the magnitude of the problem. We tend to think of global warming only in terms of how it effects humans, but the fate of all living beings is at stake. That’s a far greater responsibility,” Kuten La said.

We are honored to recognize The Venerable Thubten Ngodup as our second selection for “Eco-mmunity Leader.” His compassionate determination in coming to the United States broadens international awareness on the ecological problems taking place in Tibet. His unique and optimistic path for inner change could transform your life as well as the environment.

Sundance Channel thanks Tibet House US [www.tibethouse.org] for their kind assistance in the production of this video.